Medical Cannabis Research

Published in the journal Clinical Chemistry, this research looked at blood and plasma levels of cannabinoids in participants vaporizing cannabis, with and without drinking alcohol. They found that the use of alcohol with cannabis significantly increased the amount of THC in the blood, thus explaining reported observations that cannabis plus alcohol causes read more…

This peer reviewed article from the April 2015 issue of Clinical Research explores the current status of cannabis research, including regulatory challenges & solutions, and discusses the future of the field. Although cannabis is primarily viewed by the public as a recreational drug or agent of abuse, its medical application spans recorded history. read more…

This 2013 literature review from the American Academy of Pain Medicine by Drs. Ethan Russo & Andrea Hohmann describes the method of action by which cannabinoids alleviate pain, including direct analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects and interactions with endogenous and administered opioids, and explores clinical trials that suggest the utility of cannabinoid medicine read more…

Management of chronic pain is one of the most common reasons given by individuals seeking medical cannabis. However, very little information exists about the concurrent use of cannabis and prescription pain medication (PPM). This study fills this gap in knowledge by systematically comparing medical cannabis users who use or do not use PPM, with an emphasis on read more…

From The British Journal of Cardiology, this 2015 editorial, by neurologist and cannabis research pioneer Dr. Ethan Russo, explores the cardiovascular risks associated with cannabis, suggesting that ultra-low THC and therapeutic phytocannabinoid dosing are cardio protective, while high doses of THC and high levels of stimulation of the CB1 receptor pose cardiovascular risks. read more…

From this 2013 OB/GYN Survey on the effects of marijuana: “The effects of marijuana on the developing fetus and child are subtly different from, but not evidenced to be more severe than, those of heavy cigarette consumption by the mother during pregnancy and early childhood. Based on these findings, mandatory reporting of marijuana use during pregnancy and punitive measures related to the use of this drug during pregnancy or breast-feeding do not seem medically warranted.” read more…

The journal Neuropsychopharmacology published this study in 2013. They compared marijuana to pure THC in the treatment of pain. These data indicate that under controlled conditions, marijuana and dronabinol (THC) decreased pain, with dronabinol producing longer-lasting decreases in pain sensitivity and lower ratings of abuse-related subjective effects than marijuana. read more…

Psychiatry Research published an article in March 2015 that concluded cannabis use and psychotic experience in adolescents co-occur due to environmental factors. The data in this article argue against the hypothesis that psychotic experience and cannabis use co-occur due to a similar underlying genetic liability and highlight adolescence read more…

CBD gives a bell-shaped dose-response curve. Healing is only observed when CBD is given within a very limited dose range, whereas no beneficial effect is achieved at either lower or higher doses. This trait of purified CBD imposes serious obstacles in planning human and animal studies. The aim of this study was to find a CBD source that could eliminate the bell-shaped dose-response of purified CBD. read more…

The Missoula Chronic Clinical Cannabis Use Study was published in 2002. This project, with Ethan Russo as lead author, provided the first opportunity to scrutinize the long-term effects of cannabis on patients who had used a known dosage of a standardized, heat-sterilized quality-controlled supply of low-grade marijuana for 11 to 27 years. read more…